WAR-pedia Mission*Your mission? To build a Wiki page for the "WAR-pedia" Coalition, with the help of your battalion of course. What is a Wiki you ask?Click here to learn more.GOAL 1:Develop a "War-pedia" page that educates others about the Canadian war hero your battalion has chosen to investigate. (See the list provided below.) You will become THE information experts on your subject. Here's the kicker ... you CANNOT use the Wikipedia page already created for your hero. You pledged allegiance to the "WAR-pedia" Coalition, therefore you must fulfill your mission. No, you may not kill your rivals at Wikipedia and steal their intel. Scurvy knaves!

Canadian War Heroes (WWI)William Avery Bishop (Billy Bishop)William George Barker (Billy Barker)John McCraeHenry NorwestSir Arthur CurrieThomas George PrinceSir William StephensonOther ... If you have another soldier in mind, you must report to your CO for approval. Approval is based on the number of "good" websites you can find about the person.Each battalion will email their choices to me. Remember: it is first come, first served (Gmail time stamps all incoming mail). Choose a first and second choice, please. Your CO's email is: nona.barker@wrsd.ca.GOAL 2:Learn to work cooperatively and effectively with others. Together you will decide who will research which "WAR-pedia Contents". (See the list provided below.) As a battalion, you will also decide who will do what jobs to ensure your mission is successful! WAR-pedia ContentsEarly LifeCombat Experiences (Choose the most important experiences)Honours & TributesLife After the War (if applicable)LegacyReferences (External Sources)Expectations1) No copying and pasting is permitted on your final "WAR-pedia" page. All found information must be put into your own words or paraphrased! No exceptions!2) All sources (found information, even if paraphrased) must be cited. You may use either Easybib or Bibme to aid you in the citation process.3) The 2 - 3 images used for added information will also include external links.4) You must use a minimum of four sources (for the found information, images are excluded from this total).5) Use the Research and Citation page to assist you with the "Recce" part of your mission .6) Once you are done or nearly done, use the Inquiry and Presentation Checklist as a guide-- it will help you double check that you haven't missed any important steps in the assignment.

Campaign PlanForm Your BattalionsBefore you begin, you should form a small group (3-4 people only). Choose wisely. Some people should not be in the same battalion ... and you know why! FYI: Even if someone is absent, the battle goes on! You will use either Google Docs (via your school email account) or Evernote (on the desktop) to share information, which means everyone will have access to all working documents even if someone is absent.

Military Occupation Specialties (MOS)

Captain - Is there a natural leader in your group? Your battalion might need someone who is good at organizing and motivating others; this does not mean that a bossy person should get the job though. Remember this: the captain is fighting along side the other dogfaces!

Researchers - Who is willing to dig through all that material to get to the truth? You will need to divvy up the "WAR-pedia Contents" and images amongst all soldiers to get this job done.Page Builder(s) - Who are your builders and designers? These soldiers will need to determine the layout of the WAR-pedia page and plug-in the paraphrased information and images. Will you take turns or will there be a dedicated specialist?

Map Maker - Every battalion needs a map maker / map reader. Is there someone out there who is willing to learn how to use Bubbl.us to map out the Military Occupation Specialties (MOS)? A map of who is doing what is not optional.Fact Checker - Who will perform an inventory check to make sure that all duties have been fulfilled? Using the "Inquiry and Presentation Checklist", this specialist will need to make sure the unit hasn't skipped any steps!Proofreader - There's always grunt work to be done. Who would make the best proofreader? You need someone with an eagle eye to find typos and sentence errors before your "WAR-pedia" page is published. Citation Maker - Who is willing to try something new? Using either Easybib or Bibme, this specialist must be willing to "plug-in" the website addresses and have the citation maker turn out a properly cited source.

**All soldiers will have to be responsible for more than one job if the mission is to be successful.**STEP 1: Complete the MOS MAPNow that you know what specialities are available it is time to volunteer or assign jobs. Once this is worked out, a "Map of Military Occupation Specialities" must engineered using Bubbl.us.

MAP MAKER: When you set up your account at Bubbl.us, use your school username and password.

Reconnoitre (Recce)FYI: All soldiers must participate in the recce or intelligence gathering part of the mission.

STEP 2: ExemplarsExamine the following "wiki" exemplars carefully. What information is included? How is the page organized and designed? Use these exemplars as a guide so you know how to build your own page.

STEP 3: Internet Research Using Databases : Phase 1LearnAB is a great research database put together by the Alberta Government. Think of this site as having several encyclopedias and news articles at its finger tips. Sites like these are a great place to go when you start researching a topic or subject.

All "soldiers" in Alberta may access this database but the username / password cannot be posted online. It can be emailed though -- check all incoming communiqués for updates.

CC Search is another database. It has a wide range of materials that can be shared because of a special copyright license knows as Creative Commons or CC for short. You may use this site to help you find images. Cite all images (record website addresses and provide hyperlilnks) used on your wiki.

STEP 4: Internet Research Using Search Engines: Phase 2To make your web search more effective and/or efficient try performing a "Boolean search" first. Using the "AND, OR + NOT" operators can make your search quicker. Watch this short video to learn how Boolean operators work.

How do you know if a website is one you can trust or not? If you perform the CRAAP test, chances are you will sort out the CRAAP from the GOLD!

Internet Evaluation: The CRAAP Test:This informative PPT (hosted on SlideShare) will teach you what the acronym CRAAP stands for and why you should be vigilant when visiting websites. Pay particular attention to "Slide 12" as it provides a heads up about the websites you CAN trust.

If you want to take away a quick CRAAP reference guide (a one page document), download and print this great pdffrom Red Deer College.

Dissemination of Information / CommuniquésCommunication is important to every mission. Your battalion will employ either Google Docs (via your school Gmail account) orEvernote (shortcut icon is found on the computer desktop) to ensure everyone is in the "know". Even if someone is absent, the battle goes on! All "working" documents will be shared via the chosen system. No excuses.

Use these apps to disseminate information, share content, give feedback, and assist each other. Good communication and team work is the only way to survive life in the trenches.

For the most part you will use one of these apps to help you collect data and save it. It's important to know where to find essential information. The form provided below will be of great assistance to ALL researchers. This form is a Google Doc, which you may copy and share. It also provides some tips on what to look for when "hunting" for data.

STEP 5:Research & Note-taking FormUsing the form provided or one you created yourself, visit good websites and collect data that can be used on your wiki page. Make sure to cover each heading in the "WAR-pedia Contents" section. Record your notes on the form and make sure the notes are paraphrased! After the form is filled out, "share" it with your battalion. Select the option that says: "all people with the link may access this document".

WARNING: Did you copy and paste your web address on the above form? Do not forget to do this as it makes citing your sources much easier later on.

In the TrenchesNow that the recce or intelligence gathering part of your mission is almost done, it is time to build your hero's WAR-pedia page. All battalions will be using "wikispaces" to build and publish their page.

Over the TopBefore heading over the top ... make sure these two jobs have been completed by the Fact Checker and the Proofreader:

Fact Checker: Your job is to go through the "Inquiry and Presentation Checklist" and make sure your unit has not missed any of the steps. If a step has been missed, inform your group, who will have to work together to get 'er done!Proofreader: It's time to get those eagle eyes in focus. Your job is to carefully read the newly built page. If you find any errors (spelling, grammar, awkward sentences), fix them up! You want your page to as error free as possible before it's published!

STEP 7: Publication & FeedbackOnce the above jobs are completed, your battalion is ready to go over the top ...1) Publish your "WAR-pedia" page; let the other battalions know your page is ready by sending acommuniqué via the wiki.2) Give helpful feedback to other battalions. This feedback can be posted on the Discussion page (attached to their wiki page). 3) After providing feedback to other groups, and reading your own feedback, fix your page one last time. 4) Send a communiqué to your CO.

DebriefAfter the communiqué has been received, your CO will evaluate how well you executed your mission. Old Sweat will use a rubric specifically made for this mission. The rubric can be found here.FYI: It's always wise to read the rubric so you know "how" your battalion will be graded.

AWOLThe "WAR-pedia Mission" is a Non-Negotiable Assignment. That means this assignment is not optional. Because the project covers so many important curriculum outcomes, it is must be completed. If this mission is not completed, you will have to attend ZAP (or KP) until the work is done.

**THE WAR-PEDIA iMAGE was created using a CC image (eg. the silhouettes) and Part of the Wikipedia Logo. wikipedia has a WikiMedia Commons License, which usually allows others to use their images. I hope the same applies to their logo!